The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of 41 pregnant women in the State, Health Minister Veena George has said.
Replying to questions in the Assembly on Wednesday, Ms. George said 149 COVID-19 patients had committed suicide in the State. The Minister cited reports from various districts to inform the House that 41 pregnant women had succumbed to the infection after the first cases were reported in Kerala last year.
To a related question, the Minister said the findings of the sero surveillance study carried out by the State Government did not differ from that of studies by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).
As per the study conducted by the State Government during August-September, the sero positivity in Kerala had increased to 82.61%, reflecting the changes due to the passage of time, lifestyle transformations and progress made in vaccination.
This change reflected the intensive and efficient COVID-19 management measures launched by the State Government, the Minister said. “It indicates that a large percentage of the population has gained a certain amount of immunity against COVID-19. But the study makes it clear that 17% of the people are likely to get infected,” Ms. George said.
Sero prevalence was highest in coastal communities (93.3%) amongst people who received both doses. This is followed by residents of urban slums (91.2%), general public aged above 18 (89.92%), pregnant women (86.4%) and tribal population (85.5%).
